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Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Times
Drop in state school pupils going to Oxbridge blamed on pandemic
There were fewer state school pupils admitted to Oxford and Cambridge this academic year, new figures show. Both universities saw a decline in the proportion of their intake from state schools and an increase in those who were privately educated. Oxford's UK state school admissions were at the lowest since 2019, falling from 67.6 per cent in 2023 to 66.2 per cent in 2024 while private school intake increased from 32.4 per cent to 33.8 per cent. Of UK students at Cambridge, 71 per cent came from state schools in autumn 2024, down from 72.6 per cent in 2023, while the proportion from independent schools increased from 27.4 per cent to 29 per cent. A breakdown of Cambridge figures showed 18.8 per cent of those who applied from state schools were successful — 15.9 per cent of applicants from comprehensive schools were admitted compared with 24.4 per cent from grammar schools. For independent schools, the success rate was 21.6 per cent. Both universities said the pandemic had affected their state school intake in recent years. Cambridge said its long-term trend remained positive and Oxford said it had taken more pupils on free school meals. • How Cambridge is making the most of Trump's war on Harvard Dr Martin Thompson, director of undergraduate admissions at Cambridge, said the figures came after a period of rapid growth in state school admissions and remained above pre-Covid levels, when the state school intake was 68.7 per cent. He said: 'We remain fully committed to widening participation. We saw several subjects become much more competitive. Students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and state school students, are more likely to apply to these courses. The secondary school sector [is] still grappling with disrupted education and attainment gaps.' An Oxford University spokeswoman said that access for those from disadvantaged backgrounds was a priority and that the number of students who had been entitled to free school meals had increased to 8.1 per cent. She added: 'Factors such as socio-economic disadvantage and school performance can make it difficult for some students to access their full potential before applying to university, and therefore we use a range of contextual information to help us to better understand students' achievements.' More women were admitted to Cambridge, with the proportion up from 50 to 52 per cent. At Oxford, the proportion of women admitted fell from last year but was still at 51.9 per cent. China was by far the biggest provider of students from outside the UK, with Cambridge taking 252 students from China and Oxford 566. At both institutions, this was followed by Singapore and Hong Kong. However, applications from both EU students and the rest of the world had fallen from last year at Oxford. Cambridge said that applications from EU students fell slightly but increased from the rest of the world. Far more ethnic minority students were admitted than previous years, accounting for 30.8 per cent of those taken at Oxford and 35.1 per cent at Cambridge. Oxford has seen a sharp increase in applications from students of Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage, from 2 per cent of all UK students in 2020 to 3.2 per cent in 2024. The proportion of black African or Caribbean students is only marginally higher than last year, at 3.8 per cent. The most competitive course at Oxford was economics and management, with 19 applications per place, followed by computer science and maths and computer science. Psychology, law and computer science were among the courses with the highest intake of deprived students while classics, geography and biomedical sciences were the lowest. • I got a text about my student loan. A bit like an STI clinic calling The most competitive courses at Cambridge were its graduate medicine course, computer science and psychological and behavioural sciences. Those with the highest entry rates for applicants included classics, modern and medieval languages and music, but they also had very low numbers from deprived backgrounds. Of those admitted to Oxford, 85.6 per cent were awarded A*AA or better at A-level and 45.5 per cent achieved at least three A* grades. At Cambridge, 17.7 per cent of arts students and 39.3 per cent of science students achieved three A*s. A further 5,600 unsuccessful students went on to achieve at least A*AA in their three best A-levels. The average amount owed by new graduates has broken through the £50,000 barrier for the first time, new government figures show. Graduates now owe an average of £53,000 as soon as they start repaying their loans, up from £48,270 a year ago. The total amount owed to the government is £266 billion, by students who took out higher education loans in England. Graduates now repay 9 per cent of their salary once they earn above £21,000 and the loan is not written off until 40 years after they start paying.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Principal of Queen's College accuses Rachel Reeves of damaging female equality after her school fees VAT hike forces all-girl schools to admit boys
The Principal of Queen's College in London has accused Chancellor Rachel Reeves of damaging female equality and opportunities after her private school fees VAT hike. Richard Tillett's letter to the Times told how one private school within an hour of the Chancellor's own constituency has been forced to accept boys to a previously girls only school from September 2026. According to the principal, Wakefield Girls' High School is soon to start welcoming boys almost 150 years after it was founded in 1878. Mr Tillett added that another local school, Harrogate College, had taken the same decision, while a third, Queen Margaret's School in York, is closing its doors altogether. Writing in the Times, he said: 'All-girls' education matters, and the state does not do enough to provide it. 'Girls' schools regularly dominate the top of the national league tables, and all the evidence shows that, if girls are educated separately from boys, they achieve more highly, do more science, participate in more sport and have greater levels of self-confidence. 'Also last Friday the High Court judged that the imposition of VAT on school fees was legal. 'Whether it is moral is a different story. When will the Chancellor, who went to an all-girls' school, realise the damage that her policy is doing to the female equality agenda?' Mr Tillett, who himself attended a private school before going on to study at the University of Cambridge, had his comments on the Times' letter page. Queen Margaret's in York told parents last week it would be closing after 125 years of providing education for girls aged 11 to 18. Labour's introduction of VAT on school fees, as well as "increased national insurance and pension contributions, the removal of charitable-status business rates relief, and rising costs for the upkeep and operation of our estate", were all behind the closure, a statement from the school said. Chair of the Board of governors Terry Burt said there were simply not enough children enrolled in September to continue operating past the end of term, and the school will close on July 5. A notice to appoint an administrator has been filed with Companies House. The Labour government moved quickly after winning last year's election to introduce VAT on private schools fees, which had previously been exempt from the tax - essentially hiking fees by 20 percent. They were warned this could price middle class families out of the market, but a High Court ruling this week ruled in Starmer's favour. The judicial review claim, heard earlier this year, aimed to have the 20 per cent tax declared 'incompatible' with human rights law. However, in a decision handed down on Friday, judges rejected all claims, despite agreeing with some of the arguments. The controversial tax, pledged in Labour's manifesto, came into force in January this year. Three groups of families – most of whom are anonymous – joined private schools in bringing a legal challenge against the policy. Their lawyers argued the tax is a breach of children's right to an education under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The various families also said it was 'discriminatory' – either because their child has special educational needs (SEN), has a preference for a religious education, or because they need an all-girls environment. But Dame Victoria Sharp, Lord Justice Newey and Mr Justice Chamberlain concluded the VAT policy was 'proportionate' in its aim to raise extra revenue for state schools. They added Parliament ultimately had the right make the decision. A government spokesperson said: 'Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise £1.8bn a year, helping to support public services including the 94% of pupils who attend state schools.'
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Headmaster of 125-year-old boarding school reveals Labour tax raid has cost them £2million as it is forced to hike fees to £60,000-a-year
The headmaster of a 125-year-old boarding school has revealed that Labour 's tax raid has cost them £2million and forced them to hike their fees up to £60,000. Labour's decision to levy a 20 per cent VAT on private school fees has dealt a heavy blow to the sector, which some institutions have been unable to deal with. Keith Metcalfe, the headmaster of Malvern College, said the introduction of taxes has set the school back around £1million as a result of the increased expense of providing bursaries and more pupils leaving under crippling fee hikes. The school was hit by a further setback in April by a rise in National Insurance and the loss of business rates relief which cost the school an additional £1million. The controversial tax, pledged in Labour's manifesto, came into force in January this year. 'We are seeing schools close and hearing others that are cutting back, and it's sad to see. 'Education is one of Britain's greatest exports. There's a certain amount of soft power in high quality education that goes around the world,' Mr Metcalfe told The Telegraph. Malvern College, one of Britain's most elite schools, said this week it had no choice but to sell its prep school building and move students to the same site as the senior school. The sale will fund the renovation of old boarding houses in the senior campus for junior students to move into. Parents were told on Wednesday about the move, which is due to take place by the end of the 2026-27 academic year. The school was founded in 1865 and will increase its fees in September to £59,295-a- year for boarders and £40,245 for day pupils – a hike of 20 per cent compared with a year previous. But the headmaster said this investment was a 'strategic' risk at a time when other prep schools are closing. Mr Metcalfe said: 'You can see in our region prep schools have got smaller. There have been examples of some closing. This is therefore an opportunity for us, rather than cutting back costs to save money, we can invest in the school by bringing them over here and we all benefit from that.' Since January, 25 schools unable to cope with the raid have announced closure. The £43,000-a-year boarding school Queen Margaret's School For Girls in York has become the latest to announce its closure, saying they are 'unable to withstand mounting financial pressure' following the introduction of VAT on fees. It precedes a devastating blow to families after they lost a High Court challenge to the taxes on fees. The judicial review claim, heard earlier this year, aimed to have the tax declared 'incompatible' with human rights law. However, in a decision handed down on Friday, judges rejected all claims, despite agreeing with some of the arguments.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Headmaster of 125-year-old prep school reveals Labour has cost them £2m
The headmaster of one of Britain's most prestigious private schools has revealed how Labour's tax rises have already cost them £2m. Malvern College, which counts C.S. Lewis and Jeremy Paxman among its alumni, this week announced it was being forced to move its prep school, The Downs Malvern, from its 125-year-old site. The Victorian building was where poet W.H. Auden wrote some of his poems while teaching at the school between 1932 and 1935. Pupils will now be moved to the same building as the seniors. Keith Metcalfe, the headmaster, who looks after the whole family of schools, said the introduction of VAT on fees in January has cost around £1m as a result of pupils leaving and the increased expense of providing bursaries. These losses were compounded in April by a rise in National Insurance and the loss of business rates relief which the school estimated has cost a further £1m. Mr Metcalfe told The Telegraph: 'We are seeing schools close and hearing others that are cutting back, and it's sad to see. 'Education is one of Britain's greatest exports. There's a certain amount of soft power in high quality education that goes around the world. 'You can see that in the growth of international schools where they are following a British curriculum teaching them about the values of nationhood, politics, democracy and human rights. I think it's such a powerful tool for us as a nation and it's got to be seen in the round.' Malvern College, founded in 1865, will increase its fees in September to £59,295 a year for boarders and £40,245 for day pupils – a rise of 20pc compared with a year previous. The Downs Malvern, which was founded in 1900, charges up to £25,000 per year for day pupils and £33,000 for boarders. Malvern decided to pass on the net VAT uplift directly to parents meaning the £1m loss, which accounts for the senior and prep schools, is solely down to pupils leaving and the increase in additional bursary and hardship funding. Rob Breare, chief operating officer, said: 'One of the frustrations in the sector is that people have looked at each cost in isolation rather than to say it is a perfect storm of them together that makes it very difficult to mitigate against. 'The three big building blocks are VAT, the loss of business rates relief and then the combination of National Insurance and national minimum wage increasing.' Parents of the prep school were told on Wednesday evening about the school's move, which is due to take place by the end of the 2026-27 academic year. Malvern will renovate old boarding houses for the prep school to move into, using the sale of its existing building to help fund the move. And while this will go some way to offsetting the outlay, Malvern said it is taking a calculated risk by choosing to invest heavily at a time when other prep schools are closing. Mr Metcalfe said: 'It's a strategic decision based on the fact that down the line it's going to become harder and harder [for prep schools to attract pupils]. 'The last few years have been pretty tough on any school, but particularly those smaller, more rural schools where the market is changing. 'You can see in our region prep schools have got smaller. There have been examples of some closing. This is therefore an opportunity for us, rather than cutting back costs to save money, we can invest in the school by bringing them over here and we all benefit from that.' More than 25 schools have announced their closure since January when the Government began imposing a 20pc VAT levy on school fees – a large proportion of which have been prep schools. These schools are less able to take advantage of reclaiming VAT on capital expenditure and tend to be smaller than secondary schools. Last week, two prep schools in London announced their closure, blaming the VAT levy for a loss in pupil numbers.
The Guardian
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
High court dismisses challenges against adding VAT to UK private school fees
The high court has dismissed a wave of legal challenges against adding VAT to private school fees in the UK, saying that the government's decision was a rare example of Brexit freedoms. The judges noted that adding 20% to private school fees would not have been possible under EU law, stating: 'This is therefore one respect in which the UK's exit from the EU has increased the scope of parliament's freedom to determine policy.' The addition of VAT to school fees was a Labour party manifesto commitment at the 2024 general election, and first introduced in January. Ministers said the revenue would be used in part to recruit an additional 6,500 teachers for state schools. The written ruling by Victoria Sharp, Lord Justice Guy Newey and Mr Justice Chamberlain rejected a series of claims brought by parents and schools, seeking to block the VAT addition on grounds including religious freedom, parental choice and special educational needs. For the families claiming their children required special-needs provision that was hard to obtain in state schools, the judges said their evidence 'shows not only how bad it might be for them if they had to transfer to the state sector, but also how bad it currently is for many of the 1.1 million children with [special needs] who are already being educated in that sector'. The judges found that while the legislation did interfere with some of the claimants' human rights, the government had a 'broad margin of discretion in deciding how to balance the interests of those adversely affected by the policy against the interests of others who may gain from public provision funded by the money it will raise'. Rejecting references on access to education within the European convention on human rights, the judgment said relevant parts of the convention went 'no further than the right of access to whatever educational system the state chooses to provide … and the right to establish a private school'. It continued: 'They do not include any right to require the state to facilitate one's child's access to a private school, even if the parent's reason for preferring a private school is a religious one.' Robert Lewis, the head of the education group at the Mishcon de Reya law firm, said the result was anticipated in legal circles. He said: 'From the outset, the claim faced formidable legal obstacles: it sought to overturn a fully democratically endorsed policy; one introduced in the Labour manifesto, debated in parliament, and enacted into law. 'Nonetheless, the judgment does offer a modest but meaningful silver lining for independent schools. It observes that an outright ban on independent schools would likely breach the UK's obligations under the European convention on human rights.' Julie Robinson, the chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), one of the claimants, said: 'This is an unprecedented tax on education and it was right that its compatibility with human rights law was tested. 'The ISC is carefully considering the court's judgment and next steps. Our focus remains on supporting schools, families and children. We will continue to work to ensure the government is held to account over the negative impact this tax on education is having across independent and state schools.' The Christian Legal Centre said it would support an appeal by claimants who said the tax discriminated against their right to maintain a private Christian education.
